Time to Say Goodbye

me.

Well netnarr, it's been a really fun semester. I've been so excited to relive the Digital Alchemy and Networked Narratives experience with a new group of students, and I cannot believe that May has come so quickly. It's been simultaneously a very long and a very short semester-- although I can look back and remember the first week, it also feels as if January were years ago. We've experienced a lot this semester and played with a variety of digital tools which have allowed us to see the world through a new lens of digital storytelling. Memes, gifs, games, and sounds all contribute to a greater story which expresses the story of life in the 21st century.

If you go to this link, you will see a comprehensive account of all of my blog posts for this semester. It's crazy to look back at all of the different worlds that we have explored. You will see that there are 16 blogs for this semester, although many more date back to my netnarr life in past semesters (and past worlds). Likewise, if you click here, you will see an account of my Daily Digital Alchemy responses. This has always been one of my favorite parts of the course, as it fosters creativity in digital spaces.

Another netnarr tool that I have always appreciated is the TAGS explorer tool, because it offers an incredible way of tracking participation within a network. Every handle that has ever been included in the netnarr conversation is a part of the TAGS explorer trail. Those of us who have been highly involved in the conversation are harder to pinpoint in the thick of the network, but those on the outskirts have also contributed to the conversation. For example, there have been a few instances where I have dragged my fiance @hemingquay into the class, and he appears in the TAGS explorer as well.  I have screenshots of both of our participation below.

^Grayson (@hemingquay)

^Me (@rissacandiloro, now @rissaverona)

In comparing my Twitter presence from the beginning of the semester to the end, the account analysis tool, I noticed that my activity increased greatly. The first screenshot below is my Twitter presence from the beginning of the semester. The second screenshot shows my current Twitter presence. I have highlighted key differences between the two charts:

old

new

I'm surprised to find that I am one of three leaders on the Make Bank leaderboard (shoutout to fellow leaders Hailey and Tiffany)! I really like the Make Bank as a way of submitting projects for this class, and one of my favorite Makes was the progress GIF: mine was about the process of nail art. I was also very interested in the redlining project we did. I studied TMobile reception in Newark NJ, and was pleased to find that TMobile seems to be free of any redlining implications. This was one of the harder Makes this semester, but I enjoyed the process and I enjoyed assisting other students in completing the project. 

I have expressed this before but the largest challenge in my semester was using Audacity to create audio files. I had a rough time with the endeavor last semester, and doubted that this semester would be any different. However, I'm excited to say that I learned a great deal more about Audacity, and I'm quite proud of my projects. They can be found on my Soundcloud account (am I a Soundcloud rapper yet? Are you proud, mom?). I'm particularly proud of Seasons Transition. I look forward to using Audacity in the future and can see incorporating it into a classroom in the future. After all, aren't all the kids on Soundcloud anyway? 

All in all, I have very proud of this class and happy for the experiences I have had this semester. The digital world can raise important questions about life, access, and privilege, and I think that exploring these questions is of the utmost importance. If any other students see this, please know that I am proud of your work and am glad to have met you this semester. You have all done so well, and I hope you feel that you have learned a great deal about the digital world. To any future students who take this course, come in with an open mind and expect to have a lot of fun-- there is so much more to the digital world than just memes although, as we've learned, memes can be very important.